Henry Pierre was born in Trinidad in 1904 and received his early education at Queen's Royal College and his subsequent medical training at St Bartholomew's Hospital Medical School, where he qualified MB BS in 1931. The following year he returned to Trinidad and joined the medical service there. In 1945 he was appointed surgeon to the General Hospital in San Fernando, and in 1950 consultant surgeon to the General Hospital in Port of Spain. He pioneered the introduction of thoracic surgery to Trinidad. He became a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh in 1939. He was elected an Honorary Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of England in 1959. He was also elected a member of the International College of Surgeons and was awarded the Navy Meritorious Public Health Citation by the United States Government. He was knighted in 1957 for his services to Trinidad, and received the Chaconia Medal of Trinidad in 1976. Henry Pierre loved surgery, and had large hands and a gentle touch which allayed the fears of the most apprehensive patients, particularly children. It is not known when he married but he and his wife, Marjorie, had two sons, one of whom was adopted. He retired to England and died at Bray, Maidenhead, on 28 December 1984 at the age of 80.